Zombies and Nightmares
by Fangs of Lightning
Summary: First a zombie epidemic hits Mobius. Then, fears and past mistakes are pulled into the open for all to see as the heroes try to save the planet they all hold dear. How much will they have to lose before everything is right again?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of this story.

Chapter One

-6:30 A.M., Wednesday- Angel Island-

The Master Emerald cast a green hue around the shrine. The guardian stood, hands on the giant crystal, purple eyes closed. Tikal had contacted him earlier saying she had something important to show him. Blurry images and splashes of color flashed in his mind's eye. Bursts of sound echoed around the room, weaving into a crescendo of noise. This was the part of his job he hated. None of it made any sense. Finally, his arms fell to his sides and his eyes opened.

"What the hell was all that supposed to mean?" he asked the crystal. As usual, no response came. "Damn it. First I get headaches and now you won't tell me anything!"

"Troubles, Knuckles?"

At the sound of the other's voice, Knuckles turned. A white echidna clothed in a long black cloak stood at the edge of the shrine. His gold eyes seemed amused. Knuckles considered not telling him.

"Tikal said she had something to show me," he started. There couldn't be any harm in telling another echidna what was troubling him. "But nothing made any sense. All it was was a bunch of sounds and colors." He sighed and shook his head. "I still don't see why she can't just talk to me."

"I'd imagine it has something to do with not getting too involved. Being part of the Master Emerald, she should be as neutral as possible."

"If she can't get too involved, then why the- What's that?" A familiar shadow was lying across the stone floor. When he lifted his gaze to the source, no one was there. "Is there anyone but us on the island?"

"Not that I'm aware of," Finitevus said. "Why don't you get some sleep. I can look after the Master Emerald for an hour or so."

Knuckles was silent, staring into the distance. He knew Finitevus was right. He was an echidna as well. He wouldn't let something happen to the Master Emerald. With all the headaches and visits from Tikal, he hadn't gotten much sleep. A good rest would help him sleep, at least.

-7:30, Wednesday- Forest-

Weaving between the trees was Sonic the Hedgehog. No destination was in mind. Just his feet carrying him wherever they wanted. Enjoying the wind rushing by, blowing his quills and fur back... Nothing beat the sensations filling his body. It was one of the reasons he loved running. The forest simply added danger. And he loved danger almost as much as running. Leaves and dirt flew up to his knees as his shoes tore through the ground's top layer. Sunlight was pouring between a group of trees in front of him. Laughter echoed across the land as he let the world know how he was feeling. He hadn't had this much fun in a while. With a girlfriend like Sally, it was hard to get out and have fun. A meadow lay before him seconds later. Still laughing, Sonic spread his arms wide, turned, and fell back into the flowers. A smile of content came to his face as he lay there.

"And this time, I'm not going back," he said. "Sally can find someone else."

He heard a beep then and his ears twitched. Pulling his cell phone out of his quills, he looked at the text.

~Knuckles just came by. He says something bad's about to happen. -Tails~

~What kind of something bad?~

Sonic waited for the beep from Tails. It only took a few moments. Sometimes Sonic envied Tails' ability with mechanics.

~He's not sure. Just knows it's bad. There's stuff going on in Sloeanna too. It was on the news earlier. -Tails~

~Kay. See you later.~

Slipping the phone back into his quills, Sonic sat. Of course something would happen right as he regained freedom.

"What are you doing here? Don't you know this area's under investigation?"

Sonic looked at the speaker.

"Hey, Faker," Sonic said. "Someone go missing here?"

"No, and it's confidential." Shadow walked past Sonic as he spoke.

"Important G.U.N. business then... I could help!" Sonic ran in front of Shadow. A smile was lighting up his face. Shadow seemed less than thrilled.

"Civilians aren't..." Shadow sighed. "Fine. Yesterday one of their transports went missing in this vague area. I don't know what was in it. I'm supposed to find the transport and report anything missing."

"Look for something with G.U.N.'s logo then." He flashed Shadow a cocky smile. "Got it. Be back soon."

Shadow was left to stare at the spot Sonic had just been standing in. He started off in another direction with an irritated sigh. With Sonic helping, at least he'd cover ground faster.

It took half an hour to find it. The two came to the crest of the hill and stared down. The transport was open. It also had a lack of anything.

"Well whatever was being transported has been stolen."

-9:00 A.M.- Tails' House, New Mobotropolis-

"I'm telling you, something is about to happen. And soon." Knuckles was tired of arguing with Sonic. It was as if the blue hedgehog couldn't understand what he was trying to say.

"I want to know what Knuckles." Sonic stated once again. His tone was exasperated; a tone that rarely came from him. "I understand that the Master Emerald warned you of impending doom. But you said yourself that you've no idea what it was trying to say. Our only choice is to either find a specialist to help you out or wait for whatever's coming."

"For al we know, it could already be here."

"Sorry to interrupt, but I've found the business in Soleanna," Tails said from his seat in front of the computer. "Something strange has been happening in Soleanna." Knuckles and Tails came to his sides as he spoke. "It says here that people haven't been responding to anything all day. the only people from Soleanna that've been seen all day were in the forest outside town."

"So people are acting weird," Sonic said. "They're humans. For all we know, it could be some odd religious thing."

"I don't think so, Sonic. they were found covered with scratches, bites, and bruises. And whatever attacked them didn't have sharp teeth."

"What about Elise?"

Tails shook his head. "Nobody's been able to contact her about it. The media had a big thing on it earlier. The humans think Soleanna's planning something and that's why they're cutting themselves off."

"It's the start," Knuckles said. Distress filled his eyes as he looked at the others. "Don't you see? The Master Emerald warned me about this."

"You saw a bunch of colors and shapes," Sonic interrupted. "How those could ever ad up to-"

A knock at the door could be hear over Sonic's voice as Knuckles glared daggers at him. Tails was more than happy to leave the two and see who it was. It wasn't anything he had been expecting.

"Shadow... You don't usually come to see me..."

"I need to talk to you." Shadow was as grumpy as ever. Still, Tails moved out of the way so he could come in.

"Have a seat. Anything I can get for you?"

Shadow moved to an open chair and sat. Once there, he motioned for Tails to come over.

"I know what's going on. Since you're a scientist, I was hoping you could be of some assistance." Once Tails sat down, he continued. "Something... disturbing happened to G.U.N. Nobody answered when I attempted to contact them. Of course, I have to give my report, so I went to give it in person instead. When I got there, the place was covered in blood. G.U.N. Headquarters had come under attack. Bullet holes lined every wall. Some were even in the floors and ceilings. Guns were laying around all over the place. The smell was horrendous..." Shadow shook his head. "The considerable lack of dead bodies had me on edge even before I found them. The only 'living' soldiers I could find were eating one another." He looked into Tails' frightened sky-blue eyes. "We're dealing with a zombie outbreak. The exact thing humans have been scaring themselves with for years."

"Y-You think Eggman-"

"That's not really his style," Sonic said. He was standing in the doorway. "Why bother conquering something if everyone's gonna be a bunch of mindless monsters?" He was silent a few moments before adding; "What about aliens?" It wouldn't be the first time they attacked us."

"Who spread it isn't important," Shadow snapped. "What is important is deciding what to do. We can't just sit here. Otherwise-"

A crash from Tails' kitchen grabbed everyone's attention. Without a second's thought Shadow stood and went to the kitchen door.

In the room was a mess. One of the windows was shattered. Everything that had been on the counter in front of it was now lying across the floor. Glass included. The cause of the crash lay in the center of the mess. Shadow ran to the window, but there was no one to be seen.

"What happened?" Sonic had followed him into the room. "Is every- Amy!"

Sonic rushed to see if she was all right. A surprisingly small amount of blood was on the floor around her. Once vibrant lime green eyes were dull and lifeless. Sonic didn't want to believe it. Shadow came forward as Sonic began backing away. Kneeling he pressed his fingers against the side of her throat and checked her pulse. Nothing. Shadow looked at Sonic, who seemed to have already came to that conclusion. His hands were covering his mouth as he backed into the wall. Tears welled up in his large green eyes and he kept shaking his head. If Shadow didn't know any better, he'd say Sonic thought the fact would go away if he kept denying it.

"She's dead." Shadow put it as bluntly as possible. "I just don't see how she died. It obviously wasn't from the window..."

As Shadow moved to examine her body, her hand twitched. Shadow bent closer to look at something on her throat before quickly pulling away. Amy's dead body began pushing itself off the floor. A Chaos Spear through her head put a stop to it before she could fully rise.

"Shadow!" Sonic yelled. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Saving us!" Shadow yelled back. He looked into Sonic's grief-stricken eyes and calmed down. Sonic simply stood there as he stood and approached him. Taking the hero's face in his hands, he forced Sonic to look at him. "That wasn't Amy. She was dead, Sonic. The dead don't get back up. If they do, you have to kill them. You've seen zombie movies."

Sonic nodded and closed his eyes. Shadow was right. Shadow was usually right. It wasn't like it happened to Tails...

"Shadow!" he shouted in the other's face. "We need to see Sally! She has to know what's going on. If we don't tell her-"

"She'll find out soon enough. Everyone will."


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of this story.

Chapter Two

-9:30 A.M.- Scourge's apartment-

Heat enveloped the two on the bed. The scent of sex and sweat filled the immediate air around them. moans filled the room, accompanied by the low creaking of the bed. Half lidded gold eyes gazed up into blue. They closed as yet another lingering moan was pulled from the white hedgehog. Spines flared out across the pillow, head back in pleasure, a heavy blush darkening his cheeks... It was something only the green one above him got to see. Snow-furred hands moved up between green back spines. The gentle caress was one Scourge often yearned for.

"Silver," Scourge sighed. Leaning forward, he nuzzled his face against Silver's neck.

Silver simply shifted his position under Scourge. It wasn't often Scourge was so gentle with him and he had been cherishing it. Unfortunately, good things always had an end. A last hard thrust finally brought Silver's release. Hot white cum coated their stomachs as Scourge released inside him. They lay side-by-side a few minutes longer, enjoying the other's company.

"You're rarely like that," Silver commented once his breath came back. "What brought it on?"

"I got to thinking, and wanted to show my angel how much I loved him." Scourge smiled at Silver. "Don't know how else to do it, I suppose."

Silver chuckled. "Well, I don't mind your way of expressing love. I just wish I could repay you somehow..." Silver's expression dropped at the thought. Scourge moved over him again and cupped his face in his hands.

"You already do." Scourge gave Silver a light kiss. "Every day you spend with me is more than I deserve. Bums don't deserve angels."

"I'm no angel, Scourge. And you're no bum either. If there's anything saying you don't deserve me, it's that you're an egotistical, arrogant jackass."

"And you're an over-eager, naïve, idiot."

Silver laughed and pulled Scourge close for another kiss. White ears twitched as soon as he had done so. Gently pushing Scourge away, he furrowed his ridges in concentration. Moments later, he heard it again. Judging by the expression on Scourge's face, he heard it too. Someone was in the apartment with them.

"Prob'ly those damn neighbors again." Scourge got off the bed and went to the door. Opening it, he found he was right. The nosy neighbor who often spied on him was in his kitchen. "Shoulda known it was Mr. Platypus," he muttered. "What the hell do you-"

Scourge fell silent as the platypus came toward him. Chunks of him were missing, and his feather were stained with blood. Blank dead eyes had sunk into his face and were staring at Scourge. A bit of drool hung from his beak. Scourge backed away as the realization hit him. A zombified version of his annoying neighbor was in his kitchen. The zombified Mr. Platypus shuffled toward him. Scourge backed into his room again and slammed the door shut.

"Who is it?" Silver hadn't moved from his place on the bed.

"I think it's a zombie."

Scourge went to the window and looked out. Nothing was on the fire escape. He pushed the window open and looked to Silver. they could hear the zombie slamming against the door in it's attempt to get it open. Snarls came from the same direction. Silver stared at the shaking door with frightened eyes.

"Didn't know platypus could snarl," he nervously joked. Scourge climbed onto the fire escape as Silver cam to join him. "Why are we using the window? I could just move him out of the way."

"He's a zombie, so that prob'ly means there're lots of other zombies in the building. These kinds of things spread pretty fast, babe."

"There's lots of zombies down there too."

Silver and Scourge stared down at the street below. The monsters were already grouped under the fire escape. It was as if they knew the two hedgehogs were up there. Chances didn't look too good if they went down there now. Scourge took Silver's hand and lead him to the roof. Luckily, nothing else was up there.

"Let's go to that building," Scourge said.

He pointed to the building just left of the one they stood on. It's roof was also devoid of zombies. Silver nodded and the two went to the edge. The jump wasn't too far, by Scourge's standards. He backed about halfway across the roof and ran forward. At the right moment, he leapt. The momentum from his speed carried him across the gap and he landed on the other roof. Smiling, he turned to Silver.

"I'm not jumping, Show-off," Silver laughed.

Standing on the ledge, Silver activated his powers. Light blue enveloped him and he started floating. His spines lifted higher than usual before he started over the gap. Halfway across, Silver's eyes went wide. The glow died down as his power shut off and he was yanked to the side. A scream ripped from his throat as he reached for Scourge. Scourge ran forward and reached out to his lover, nearly falling off the ledge in the process. Instinctively, he moved his body backward and fell onto his butt. Looking around, he didn't see anyone. Someone had to have used something to grab Silver like that, yet nothing could be seen. Being in broad daylight, there was nowhere they could've hid. Balling his right hand into a fist, he hit the cement beneath him.

-9:30 A.M.- Castle Acorn-

"Princess!" The purple-clad lynx ran down the hall. "Princes Sally!" She had urgent news that couldn't wait any longer. It had waited long enough. If only she had sought out the princess sooner...

"What is it, NICOLE?" Sally was grumpy. A scowl was on her muzzle and she had her arms crossed under her breasts.

"The city is under attack!" NICOLE yelled.

Sally's eyes widened before narrowing in mild suspicion.

"Why didn't the alarms go off?"

"We're under attack from the inside. I know it sounds crazy but we're facing a zombie epidemic!"

NICOLE was worried, Sally could see it in her eyes. Zombies were just those things you couldn't believe were there unless you saw them with your own eyes.

"We should find someone who has some knowledge of- NICOLE?" The lynx was phasing in and out of existence. It had never happened before; it didn't happen to computers like NICOLE. "What's happening?"

NICOLE looked at Sally, green eyes filling with fear. Despite knowing it wouldn't do any good, Sally grabbed her arms and tried to hold her there. NICOLE grabbed Sally's arms as well. She had never been forcibly shut down before. Without any farther warning, NICOLE vanished as the power shut off all across town. A few flickering lights were the only clue NICOLE was somewhat present. It was enough to convince Sally that they were in a crisis. Zombies or not, something was wrong with New Mobotropolis. Moaning like the movie she had watched with Sonic came from down the hall.

"Okay, Sally. Think." She spoke aloud to comfort herself. "This isn't the movie. The important thing now is... Power!" Sally snapped as the idea hit her. "I need to get to Rotor."

Sally ran down the hall, avoiding the few zombies she came across. NICOLE had notified her just a few moments ago. If the zombies were all ready inside the castle, NICOLE had waited too long to warn her. The main hall was a different story. The front doors were on the floor. Servants screamed as the monsters feasted on their flesh. More zombies poured in from the outside as Sally watched in horror. Nose wrinkled against the horrendous smell, a thought struck her. If it had spread this far, she was lucky to have survived. Tears filled her eyes as a hand moved to her mouth. There was no way her father would be able to survive. She took a shuddering breath despite the air around her and closed her eyes. There'd be time for tears later. Sally turned and ran down a side passage as a zombie reached for her leg. There wee other ways out of the castle; ones she was sure weren't blocked off. She'd never used it, only heard about it. As a result, it was difficult for her to find.

_Please don't let there be anything in the water._

With that single thought Sally jumped into the drainage area. She followed the water until she came to the wall of the castle. Thanking Chaos the architects used wood for the drainage gate, she turned and gave it a few good kicks. The wood broke under her boot and fell into the water. Sally followed it's example and jumped into the moat.

-10:15 A.M.- New Mobotropolis-

"Mon Princesse!"

Upon hearing the familiar voice Sally turned. Antoine D'Coolette was rushing to her. Determination was set in his features though his eyes shone with fear. in his left hand was his sabre, blood-soaked.

"You are un'armed?" Antoine looked her over. "Your fur, it eez all wet. What 'appened?"

"I jumped into the moat." Sally moved her wet bangs out of her eyes once again. "I'm so glad you're here. I was worried all of you had died." Antoine seemed a little startled when she gave him a quick hug and pulled away. "We need to speak to Rotor."

Antoine simply nodded. The two made their way to the Science Center where Rotor had a lab. At this time of day, it was the most likely place to find him. The sight that met them wasn't pleasant. Glass was spread across the lawn from where something had broken the windows. Zombies had already broken into the building, smashing through the glass front doors.

"Zat eez not good."

"I hope he's all right."

Sally hurried into the building with Antoine right behind her. The reception area looked just as bad as the front lawn. As they stepped loser to the reception desk, they could hear a sound. It was slight; almost as though something was eating. Antoine grabbed Sally's hand and steered her toward the emergency stairs. Better to let eating zombies eat than get eaten yourself.

The fact that the door was shut raised their hopes a little. Sally opened the door and started down the stairs. Antoine came after her, gripping the hilt of his sword in nervousness. It sounded too quiet for his liking. With the state the city was in, Antoine thought he'd be able to hear more noise. for all they knew, they could've been walking into a trap. He didn't speak up, however, until they had reached the bottom. Sally was about to open the door when his voice got her attention.

"Mon princesse, are you certain zis eez a good idea? What if we are walking into a trap?" His voice was shaking as much as his sabre.

Sally turned from the door and looked at him. A scolding about being a coward yet again was halfway out when the words just died. Seeing him shaking in fear and nervousness, her features softened. In all honesty, it would've been strange if the coyote wasn't frightened. Purposefully, she walked toward him. Placing a hand ion his face, she made him look at her.

"Calm down, Antoine. I don't think these things are smart enough to make traps. You found me on your own, didn't you?" Once he had nodded she continued. "That took bravery, and you can do it again. Just focus on me. I still need protecting and you're the only one around here with the capabilities."

Antoine nodded again while calming himself. He was the only one who could protect Sally, she had just said it herself. Whether or not it was a lie to make him happy didn't matter. Sally nodded back, pleased that her words had worked. The door she had been about to open led to an empty hallway. The lights continued to flicker and not a sound could be heard.

"Per'haps 'e eez not 'ere?"

"He should be here. There's no reason why he wouldn't be."

Antoine followed behind her saying, "Per'aps when ze power went out 'e left to see what was wrong at ze power plant... Why eez a box keeping open ze door?"

"I don't..." Sally shook her head. "Well, let's check on him anyway."

The lab beyond was a mess. Things were scattered on the floor, more broken than not. It looked as though something big had come through and knocked things over. Vials had scattered their contents across the floor and counters as they shattered. Papers and tools added to the mess, and Rotor was nowhere to be seen. Biting her lip in worry, Sally moved through the lab. If she could find supplies, she could possibly fix whatever had happened at the power plant.

"If you find anything we can use to fix a power problem, tell me."

Sally lifted herself onto her toes to look in the higher counters. All of them were empty. It seemed as if someone had deliberately gotten rid of everything, knowing they would come there.

"I am not liking zis." Antoine's nervous shaking had returned as he looked around the lab. He rounded a corner to look in Rotor's desk. "Somezing eez off 'ere. We should- Ah!"

A hand had grabbed onto his ankle. His body reacted to the crushing grip on his ankle and swung his sabre down before his mind could come up with any explanations. The sabre sliced through flesh and bone, cleaving half the forearm from the rest. A shockingly small amount of blood fell to the floor. Stumbling backward, Antoine pointed his sword at the creature. Flesh was falling from his arms and face as Rotor tried to pull himself forward. With a single arm, it was proving difficult. Blank, sunken eyes stared at the coyote. Drool dripped from it's mouth as frequently as the moans which were now coming from it. Sally hurried over to see what the problem was as Antoine closed his eyes. Raising his sabre once again, he took a deep breath and reopened his eyes.

"Au revoir, mon ami. May your second death bring peace to you."

With the determination of an executioner, he swung the sabre down on top of Rotor's head. The sharp blade sliced through the strap of his goggles and into his head. Antoine didn't stop the motion until the sabre hit the floor with a dull thud. Sally stood next to him and lay a hand on his back.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of this story.

Chapter Three

-Noon, New Mobotropolis-

The city was already in ruins. How it escalated so quickly was anyone's guess. Zombies filled every section of New Mobotropolis; you could barely go five feet without seeing more of them. Of course, that wasn't what Knuckles the echidna was worried about. What the guardian was concerned with was the sudden surge of chaos energy. It had come from Angle Island, and had yet to die down. If Chaos was released, Mobius would be done for. Knuckles should've known not to trust Finitevus with the Master Emerald. Now, because of him, the scientist was using the Master Emerald for something hat couldn't be a good thing. Knuckles was hurrying to the edge of town so he could get up to Angel Island and stop whatever was happening. Al of his plans were forcibly abandoned as power suddenly returned to the city. The defensive mechanisms started up and prevented him from leaving. After growling at the barrier across the gate, he turned and looked at Angel Island. The glow engulfing the island had him worried. It was a combination of green and turquoise, the Master Emerald and Silver. Something about it wasn't right.

-11:40 A.M. Wednesday- Angel Island-

"Just think," Finitevus said. "You'll be helping to save Mobius, just as you wanted."

The last of his preparations in place, Finitevus hopped down from the master Emerald. He looked back at the sight with pleasure. Silver was chained atop the Master Emerald. His arms and legs were each chained individually, leaving him spread-eagled. The Halo of the Sun was painted on his lower torso, as well as carved into his palms. The Halo of the Sun was comprised of two circles, one lying within the other. Separating the two circles were symbols. Within the smaller circle were three more, placed in a triangular formation. Four more symbols shared the space. All in all, it was amazing he could carve it into the hedgehog's palms. The only reason it wasn't carved into his torso as well was because he needed him to survive a while. The Halo of the Sun on his body as well as his psychokinesis would pull the Nightmare Zone into theirs. It was the only way to grant salvation and paradise to Mobius' inhabitants.

"I... won't help you." Silver said yet again. He was trying to be brave despite the pain in his hands and the tears welling up in his golden eyes.

"Oh, you don't have a choice, I'm afraid." Finitevus chuckled. He moved forward and placed his hands on the Master Emerald. Closing his eyes he recited; "The Servants are the Seven Chaos. Chaos is power, controlled by my will. The controller exists to enslave the Chaos."

Once the hex was complete, he removed his hands from the Master Emerald. As he had calculated, the powers within the emerald reacted to his desires and manipulated the energy held within Silver's body to activate his psychokinesis. It was no wonder, with the hedgehog's body in direct contact with it. Seconds later Silver's screams echoed around the room as his back arched away from the Master Emerald. His eyes were wide with fear as incredible pain ripped through his body. Finitevus basked in the glow of the combined powers. Soon, his plans would finally be realized. All he needed now was Knuckles to uphold his part of the plan. Not that knuckles had a choice in the matter. Being the guardian of the Master Emerald, he was already affected by it's powers and helping the albino echidna.

-Noon- New Mobotropolis-

The happenings on Angel Island were the last thing anyone in the city below had been worrying about. The city's outer defenses weren't letting anyone leave, infected or not. Nothing could come in either, but that hardly mattered once the threat was all ready within the walls. Zombies were all over the place, buildings were getting destroyed, and the survivors didn't know how much longer they could keep themselves alive. Some had no troubles. Others however...

"I don't know what's going on, but I don't like it," Mina told herself. once more, she looked out the window and across the land outside. "Wish I'd wake up already."

Mina buried her face in her knees. Of course she knew it was real. It was just easier if she thought of it as a bad dream. It had all started when Ash had tried to eat her. At first she thought he had been playing around. It wouldn't have been the first time. When he didn't respond to a thing she said and really went for her throat, she had pushed him away and ran. her legs hadn't stopped moving until she was in the City Library. Why the library, she wasn't sure. Maybe it had looked safe when she first arrived. Now, it wasn't so safe anymore. Teary green eyes looked back at the pathetic barricade she had made. It was just a desk shoved in front of the closed door. Anything could move it with enough pushing. then, her life would be over. there wouldn't be anywhere else for her to run.

As soon as the thought crossed her mind the door started rattling.

"Someone in here?" a male's voice called. "I'm not infected. You can let me in."

Mina recognized the voice. Wiping the tears from her face, she stood and went to the door. once there, she slowly pushed the desk out of the way and opened it. Sonic was there on the other side, just as she had thought. Without any hesitation, Mina ran forward and threw her arms around him. Tears ran freely down her face and into his fur.

"Mina, calm down. You're safe now." Sonic put his arms around her. He hated to see anyone cry.

"I'm so scared Sonic! I don't know what to do or where to go... Those things are all over the place..."

"You're safe now. I won't let them hurt you."

As they reunited, red eyes narrowed in anger from behind a bookshelf. Sonic was petting the back of Mina's head, combing his fingers through her hair. the feeling brought comfort to the singer. She felt safe in his arms. It couldn't go on any longer.

"She the only survivor here?" Shadow came around the bookshelf as he spoke. "We should find a safe pace for everyone. maybe get up to Angel Island if we can't."

"Something wierd's going on up there," Sonic said. He still hadn't pushed Mina away. "Besides, we need to find NICOLE first. If we can't get out of the cuity, we can't get to Angel Island."

"What about the Royal Army Headquarters?" Shadow did well hiding his annoyance, if he did say so himself. "We can at least find weapons there. The only other choice is the castle and you saw that on our way here."

"I don't... Shadow?" Sonic pointed out the window. "there's something going on around AngelIsland."

All three of them went to the window and looked out at the floating island. A thick fog was rolling off the island, followed by an unusual darkness. it wouldn't be long until the city was covered with the fog. They were running out of time. Time they hadn't really had in the first place.

-12:30 P.M., Wednesday- No Zone-

The screen went red and 'Dead' flashed before green eyes. a gloved hand raised and pulled the simulation visor off his face as he sighed. As the Zone Cop Corps. Star Officer, it was unacceptable. He should be able to handle any situation he came across. the door slid open and the crocodile Zector came in.

"That's the fifth time this week, Boss. Wanna talk about it?" For once, his tone was completely serious.

"It's nothing I can't handle." Zonic walked past him as the words left his mouth. The first thing he noticed when he left were the flashing red lights. Something bad was happening in another zone.

Zonic ran to the monitor room, where he found most of the chaos.

"What's happening?" he asked. Zespio automatically turned. He was almost always the first to resond when Zonic wanted something.

"Something's happening in the Prime Zone." Zonic came forward and looked at the computer screen as he spoke. "It looks as though the Nightmare Zone is trying to come together with it. It's something we've never seen before, Boss."

"Nightmare Zone..." Zonic didn't want to think of the mess that was going to cause. "What could've caused it?"

"There're high chaos energy readings coming from Mobius Prime," Ziles said. "Someone has to be using the Master Emerald located on the planet. What we should do about it is-"

"I'm going to Mobius Prime," Zonic said. If he was there, he could get a better understanding of the situation. "Keep me updated in anything that happens. Zespio, you're in charge while I'm gone. Do not fail me."

Zonic nearly ran from the room. If the Prime Zone was combining with the Nightmare Zone, Sonic Prime was in danger. He couldn't allow anything to happen to him. Less than ten minutes later, he was fully prepared and teleporting to Mobius Prime. the place he appeared in was New Mobotropolis, on the side of a building. Below him, zombies were closing in on Kuckles. the echidna seems distracted by something; a bad idea in a situation like this. without hesitation he pulled out his gun and fired. once the last zombie had fallen knuckles looked around an finally noticed him.

"Things are that bad?"

"Two zones coming together hasn't been heard of in a long time," Zonic said. "Considering which zone is being pulled into yours, I had no choice but to come check out the situation for myself." Sonic walked down the wall until he was at around the same level as Knuckles. "The Master Emerald is the only thing on this planet with that kind of power, correct?"

Knuckles nodded. "But no one can get onto Angel Island now. NICOLE won't let anyone out of the city, and the Master Emerald is protecting itself and the island. That's what the..." Knuckles fell silent, staring up at Angel Island It was completely engulfed in darkness, the fog having moved more to New Mobotropolis. "Do you have any idea what's going on?"

Zonic shook his head. Despite everything they knew about the Zone of Nightmares, he had no idea what affect it would have on Mobius. the effect it would have on the inhabitants were another matter entirely.

"All I'm aware of is that someone is using a great amount of chaos energy to pull that zone into yours. We don't have much information on that particular zone. It's relatively harmless on it's own, so we don't worry much about it."

As he spoke, the fog settled in the streets and around the buildings. Nothing could be seen past the fog. It was a chore just to see a few feet ahead of their current location. Knuckles frowned as he looked at his surroundings. How were they supposed to see the zombies now?"

"I'm coming down. Could you help?"

Knuckles looked at the zone cop as he reached a hand out. Knuckles took hold of his arms as he moved his other had to his belt. On the side of the circular middle was a small button. It would fix the gravity Zonic stood in, if Zails was right and hadn't failed in his creation. Once the button was pressed, Zonic felt gravity shift around him. His body was pulled to the ground instantly. If not for Knuckles holding him, Zonic would've been hurt. gald it had worked, at least for the time being, Zonic looked at his new partner.

"Where to first?"


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of this story.

Chapter Four

-1:00 P.M. Wednesday- New Mobotropolis-

Scourge still hadn't found Silver. With the fog setting in, it didn't look like he would find him anytime soon. Something about the fog was unnerving, as if things were hiding in it, watching his every move. Focusing on finding his angel was enough to keep it from bothering him too much. As he walked down the street to what he thought was the exit of the city, he heard a noise. Ears perked up as his body got ready for an attack. Anything could come out of that fog. What came was what he'd been partially expecting. It was the number that took him by surprise. How that many zombies snuck up on someone was a mystery to him.

"Damn it," he growled. "I don't have time for these guys... What the hell?"

Before his eyes, the zombies grouped together and began convulsing. Scourge could only stare in horror as they appeared to fuse together. in the few moments the fog came forward and surrounded them, the group had transformed into a grotesque creature. It's general shape resembled a figure leaned over some kind of rectangular board with it's legs and arms dangling off each of the four corners. Exactly how it moved with just it's legs while in that position, he wasn't sure. As it moved forward, Scourge realized it wasn't just one figure. Below the body, laying flat on the rectangular object, was another figure. It was smaller than the one above it, and appeared to be screaming. As it moved toward him, Scourge could only stare.

Cruel yellow eyes staring down at him above a grinning mouth. Angry brown eyes glaring down at him, partially hidden behind brown hair. Both images flashed before him as trembling overtook his form. Scourge backed away from the creature.

"St... Stop it. I-I'm sorry..."

Fear and tears welled up in his eyes as the memories continued flashing in the front of his thoughts. The creature continued getting closer and closer. Turning, Scourge ran in the direction he had been going. He wanted as much space as possible between himself and that thing. He skid to a stop moments later, seconds before he went over the edge of a giant crevice. Blue eyes turned up from the missing ground to the gate standing on the other side of a ten-foot gap.

"Where the hell'd this come from?" Scourge yelled. Obviously, no one answered him.

The only sound besides zombies was one getting louder by the second. It was the sound of a large, hunched over creature moving steadily towards it's target. Shaking returned as Scourge turned to face it. The monster's presence pulled memories to the forefront of his mind. Memories he didn't want to be reminded of. How to deal with the monster completely eluded him. Scourge turned to face the creature. He drew his pocketknife and prepared for an attack. As the monster drew closer to him, a face flashed before Scourge's eyes. Calm disappointed brown eyes stared up at him. The knife shook as Scourge stared ahead. Despite the monster closing in on him, he couldn't bring himself to move. He couldn't do it, not again.

_Horrible child, _a deep, smooth male's voice said. _You'd kill your own father?_

"You didn't give me a choice!" Scourge yelled. His hand shook as tears fell down his cheeks once again. "It's your own damn fault for ignoring me my whole life... For yelling at me when I did have your attention-" He gasped as the image changed shape before him.

_You really think I'd listen to you? _A deep, rumbling voice came next. _You're not in a position to talk, Snot. You're smaller and weaker than I am. _

_I helped give you life! If it weren't for me-_

_Hold still, Snot, and I promise this won't hurt more than it has to-_

_And who do you think brought about the Great Peace? If I had wasted all my time with you-_

_I said if you held still, it wouldn't hurt as much. _

A loud, snorting laugh sounded from directly above Scourge. The hedgehog felt his pocketknife slip from his hand. The sound of metal hitting pavement went unnoticed as he fell to his knees. Hand covered his ears as he curled into a ball.

"Go away... Stop it..." Scourge tightly shut his eyes as the voices continued. "Leave me alone..."

Just as he thought death was upon him, Scourge hear a loud thump. Looking up, he saw the body of the monster. It looked as though it had ben sliced into pieces by a thin blade. Turning his face upward, Scourge saw someone walking over to him in the fog. Squinting, he got a better look at the Mobian approaching.

"What are you doing here?" he shouted. "You should be in No Zone Prison"

"What are you talking about?" The voice that came to him was deep, but gave more the impression of belonging to an idiot than someone who deserves to be in a prison. The Mobian who came into view definitely wasn't the one he had been expecting. Considerably large, standing at twice Scourge's height.

"Had you mistaken for someone else," Scourge said. "You know how fog can do that to someone."

"Well, I heard someone talking and came to investigate. The scary creature looked like it was going to kill you, so I got rid of it."

"Thanks, big guy." Scourge looked back at the remains of the monster as he retrieved his knife from the ground. "So that fishing rod ain't just useful for catching fish, then."

"No, it isn't." Big gave Scourge a smile before a shocked expression came across his face. "That reminds me. Have you seen my best friend Froggy? we got separated when this fog came, and I've been looking everywhere for him."

"Have you even noticed the monsters?" Scourge couldn't believe that all this time the big cat had been looking for what sounded like a pet frog. "I know. Why don't I help you find him? You can help me, too. I'm looking for Silver the hedgehog. You know him, right? One of Sonic's friends-"

"The one with white fur and gold eyes?"

"Yes, him. I got separated from him, and I can't seem to find him. Will you help me?"

"Amy Rose always says we should help the people who need it. So, I'll help you."

Scourge didn't want to admit it, but he felt safer knowing someone was going to be there with him.

-1:00, Wednesday- near the power plant-

"Zat looks bad," Antoine stated.

Sally couldn't help but agree with him. The power plant was surrounded by a barrier that could have only come from NICOLE. Which effectively meant they couldn't get into it. A pout formed on her muzzle as she tried to think of a way past it. Nothing came to mind. With the fog closing in, they'd have a harder time finding their way around. The Royal Army Headquarters would be their best bet for safety, as well as getting herself a weapon. With any luck, the others would be there as well. Motioning for Antoine to follow, she started in the direction of the Royal Army Headquarters. The fog caused a sense of foreboding, as though something bad was about to happen. Sally didn't like it any more than Antoine did. Zombies came out of the fog and Antoine moved in front of Sally. His protection was rendered momentarily useless, however, as the zombies began convulsing where they stood. They could only look on in horror as the zombies burst and other monsters seemed to come out of their ruined, bloody bodies. these monsters looked significantly different. They seemed to be Mobian, though their species was unknown. It looked as though they wore a straightjacket made of stretched flesh, and their faces were missing. They advanced on Sally and Antoine as the two began backing away. the monsters they could handle. These things were a completely different matter entirely. Sally pulled Antoine around to the side of the creatures and kept moving. They were still faster than the threats they were faced with. It wouldn't be any problem to reach the headquarters. Fortunately, Sally was right.

The Royal Army Headquarters did, however, look like a mess. Just like the Science Center, glass was spread across the lawn. Headless bodies lay around the main floor, no longer a threat. Four other Mobians stood in the room, looking around. Shadow, Sonic, Tails, and Mina were luckily unharmed as well.

"Hey, Sally," Sonic called. He waved, prompting her to give a wave back. "Glad to see you're safe. What's Antoine doing with you?"

"I eez protecting 'er majesty," Antoine stiffly answered.

"And he's been doing a wonderful job," Sally added. "Know if anyone else survived the first wave of disaster?"

"No idea. I know Amy's dead, Knuckles is by himself somewhere, and something freaky's going on at Angel Island." Sonic wished he could be more help. "Oh, NICOLE's back too."

"I noticed. She's not letting us into the power plant. I wanted to go in and see what happened, but..."

"We should rest here for a bit," Shadow stated. "All of us have had a tough time with this, and we don't know what's going to happen next. Like Sonic said and I'm sure you've noticed, something's weird's going on. The zombies are no longer zombies, and the city itself is changing."

"So NICOLE's trying to kill us," Mina said. "Should've known, after what happened last time she was messed with."

"Mina, she may not have a choice in the matter," Sally said. "Besides, we don't know what's going on up on Angel Island. That could be affecting the city and-"

"NICOLE has full control over how it looks, doesn't she? The only way that would be true would be if something reprogrammed her. I thought she couldn't be hacked."

"Everyone, be quiet!" Antoine yelled. "Should we not be resting razer zan arguing with ourselves?"

"Ant's right," Sonic said. "Why don't we find a safe room and stay there for a while? While looking, we could find some weapons to protect ourselves with." Sonic looked at the door before adding; "Maybe we should barricade the door as well. Just in case."


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of this story.

Chapter Five

-2:00 P.M., Wednesday- Royal Army Headquarters-

Tails and Antoine were sleeping, the smaller fox curled against the coyote's side. Sonic had gone off in search of weapons, Mina and Sally tried to figure out what to do, and Shadow was left on guard duty. Feeling low on chaos energy, he would've preferred to be sleeping. He wouldn't be able to sleep with his mind as focused on Sonic as it was anyway. Shadow shifted position and glanced at the sleeping canines again. They were fine, like last time he checked on them. The fact that Tails could sleep so peacefully came as a shock, really. He thought the young fox would be too afraid to get to sleep. Shadow looked back at the door. Sonic had been gone too long. His decision made, Shadow woke Antoine. The blond Frenchman looked up at him and rubbed his eyes.

"I'm going to go look for Sonic," Shadow said. "Keep watch."

Jumping to attention, Antoine saluted Shadow. Once Shadow had nodded and left the room, he lowered his arm. Since the armory was in the basement, that was where Shadow would look for Sonic. His thoughts wandered to the current situation as he made his way to the basement.

It really wasn't terrifying at all, when he thought about it. All the lights were working. The monsters seemed to be keeping to themselves. Angel Island was what had him worried. Skies didn't get that black during the day. And it seemed to be spreading as well, after the fog. He had heard Sally mention it to Mina while they were trying to come up with a plan of action. The main hall was still empty when he got there, though all the lights were off by then. The barricade was still in place holding the door closed. Frowning, Shadow found the light switch and flicked it. When nothing happened, he got ready for anything. Red eyes continuously checked his surroundings as he walked across the room. The door to the basement was off a short corridor to the left of the door. The door was unlocked when Shadow tried the handle. Beyond was a set of stairs leading into the basement of the building. The switch across from the door worked, even if the lights were dim. Despite the frown remaining on his muzzle, Shadow was glad for the light.

"Sonic?" he called at the bottom of the staircase. "You down here?"

He didn't get a response. Worry and fear for the blue hedgehog was building up within Shadow at an alarming rate. Sally had told Sonic that he'd find weapons in the armory in the basement. Sonic was the type to wander off, but Shadow doubted he'd do it in this kind of situation. Every door he tried was either locked, the handle was strangely missing, or nothing was in the room beyond. With each failed room, his worry increased. What if something had happened to him? If he lost his only rival...

"Sonic! Can you hear me?"

This time, he did get a response. Pressing his ear to the wet door in front of him, the whimpering her had heard got louder. Shadow pulled his head away and stared at the door. Water was dripping down the length of it, despite the fact that there was no water anywhere in the area. When Shadow opened the door, the only water around was a few inches covering the floor. Shadow entered the room and looked around. Sonic was on top of one of the shelves against the back wall. Curled in a ball and shaking, Shadow couldn't help but feel sympathy for him.

"Sonic? What's wrong?" Shadow went to the shelf and looked up at him. Sonic didn't respond, and instead continued his frightened shaking. He peeked from under his arm at Shadow. Green eyes were filled with fright, a look that rarely came into his eyes.

"Sh-Shadow..." Sonic uncurled and looked around the room. "The water's gone..." Looking back at Shadow he asked; "What did you do?"

"I opened the door, obviously." The relief he felt at finding Sonic safe wasn't shown in his tone. Despite the tone he did have, Sonic slid off the shelf and into his arms. "There was no water, Sonic. Just on the door."

Sonic shook his head against his chest. It was almost as if he was nuzzling the fur there.

"Water started to fill the room... Before I knew it, it had gotten up to my chest..." Sonic's shaking continued as Shadow looked around the room. "I was scared, Shadow..."

A sigh came from his lips as Shadow placed his arms around Sonic. The fact that Sonic felt he could admit that to him was wonderful, yet nothing was in the room.

"There's no water here, Sonic." Shadow looked at the shelf of weapons in the room. "We found some weapons though. Good job."

Sonic looked at him, still holding on as if his life depended on it.

"Sally and the others all right?"

"They're fine. Sally's trying to come up with a plan to get to NICOLE. Tails was sleeping, though he might have woken up by now. Mina's-"

"Don't tell anyone, all right?" Sonic's expression held an odd mixture of embarrassment and seriousness. "Heroes aren't supposed to be afraid of something like water."

"Promise."

Sonic released him then and moved to the shelf. Lifting a few of the guns, he turned to Shadow.

"Sally's been waiting long enough. Let's just grab what we can carry and get moving."

-2:30 P.M. Wednesday- Outside Royal Army Headquarters-

"We can't pinpoint what caused this anomaly to happen," Zonic was saying. "All we know is that another Zone known as the Nightmare Zone is being pulled into yours. The only thing with enough power to pull that off is the Master Emerald. We need to get to that island."

Zonic was leaning over the table, talking to Sally. Sonic walked over and wrapped his arms around his double.

"Heya," he said. "Long time no see."

"Prime..." Zonic glanced back at him "Do you have any ideas how we can get to NICOLE?"

"You're helping us? Sweet!" Sonic swung around beside him and sat on the table. Legs crossed, he leaned back and addressed Sally. "NICOLE's in charge of all the town's defenses, isn't she?"

"That's why I can't think of a way past the barrier." Sally had her face in her hands. "There is no way through her barrier. Now that Rotor's dead, and Tails can't hack anything... Unless Zonic's got some fancy gadget somewhere." Sally sighed and looked down at the table again. "I just wish this was a nightmare. None of this would be happening, and father would be all right..."

Sonic lay back across the table. Lifting his arms, he placed them around Sally. Awkward, but it got the job done. Sally lay over him, crying slightly.

"Come on, Sal. We're safe here. You can let it out."

Shadow frowned at the sight and looked away. Sure, Sally deserved this time to break down for once. He'd heard it was good for people to cry when bad things happened to them. That, he could deal with and understand. He just didn't like how close the two were. Needing something to calm his mind, he approached the echidna. An expression of pain was etched onto his face and a hand was on the side of his head. Shadow sat next to him and leaned back against the couch.

"Hit your head on something?" he asked.

Knuckles grunting, otherwise ignoring him. Shadow crossed his arms and leaned more fully against the couch. If Knuckles didn't want to talk to him, he'd at least rest and recharge. Lids closed over red eyes and soon he was fully resting. Whatever was hurting his head was really starting to annoy him. Knuckles leaned back against the couch, matching Shadow's position almost perfectly.

"I'm sorry." Sally stood upright and wiped tears from her eyes. "I'm fine now."

Sonic sat up and turned around on the table.

"We'll find a way to fix this, Sally. After everything else we've been through together, it'll be no sweat."

Sally smiled. "This isn't Eggman, Sonic. We've never encountered something like this before."

"In any case, we need to move soon," Zonic interrupted. "We have no idea when-"

Screaming suddenly cut him off as Knuckles held his head in agony. He was arching backward, the top of his head pushing back into the cushions. The three at the table looked over in his direction. The noise had woken Shadow, who was now leaning over the echidna. Despite the hands on his face, Knuckles was unresponsive to a word that was coming from his mouth. The walls around them began to disintegrate and flake away. The darkness was completely engulfing the room, showing through the grating of the ruined walls. Sonic looked around as Knuckles finally stopped yelling. His headache vanished as the remaining sections of wall peeled away. Everyone looked around the room as Knuckles panted. Tails was sitting upright in his spot on the floor, looking dazed and confused.

"What just 'appened?" Antoine was the first to speak. "Ze room, it just left us."

"Nobody knows what's going on," Shadow said. "All we have to do is find our way through it."

"NICOLE could probably help us sort this mess out," Sally said. "All we need to do is get to her."

"NICOLE's probably the one causing it!" Mina yelled. "How do we know she's innocent? It wouldn't e the first time she's-"

"If eet was NICOLE, zen why would ze room leave account of Knuckles' shout?"

Zonic stood with his eyes closed. A hand was on the side of his head, thoughts racing through his mind. The bickering in the room was making it hard for him to think.

"Be quiet!" he finally snapped. At the command everyone fell silent. "The Nightmare Zone plays with your head. Things that shouldn't be there will be while things that should be there won't. It pulls your fears, guilt, bad memories, and darkest desires into the open. That's all I know about it. Who brought it here is still a mystery, but-"

"Finitevus," Knuckles said. "He's the only other person who can access the Master Emerald's inner powers." He shook his head as he continued to speak. "But even with all it's power, I don't think it could do something like this by itself. Not without something to help pull it."

"Let's worry about that later," Sally said. "I know how important it is, but we need to talk to NICOLE before anything else. Without that, there's no way to get to Angel Island."

"Guys, this place is more than a little creepy." Sonic had finally decided to add to the conversation, holding Tails close as if he could protect him from anything simply by being there. Tails was silent, having nothing to say on anything. It was unsettling for the blue hero. Concerned eyes looked at the fox as he snuggled closer to Sonic.

"Let's be moving zen. She won't be found 'ere."

Sally smiled at Antoine's enthusiasm. It was different from how he usually reacted to things. Sonic wasn't doing it now; it made sense someone else would.

"We should split up, guys. that way we cover more area." sonic held Tails tighter. "I'll bring Tails with me."

It was a good idea, even if they knew next to nothing about the situation. The city hadn't changed. It was still New Mobotropolis.

"I shall be with mon princesse."

"I'll be fine on my-"

"I'll go with him," Shadow interrupted. Knuckles glared at him for the unwanted offer. Shadow glared right back. "After what just happened, we can't let you wander on your own."

"Mina, you'll come with me," Zonic said. He wouldn't have minded tagging along with Prime; it would give them time to catch up on things. But Mina was definitely someone in need of protection. "Don't worry, I'm capable of protecting someone."

Mina giggled at Zonic's unnecessary assurance. He was a cop, of course he could protect someone. Everyone looked at the weapons and ammunition Shadow and Sonic had placed on the floor. They were going to need them, especially after what had happened to the city. After a short discussion, Sally and Antoine left the room. Knuckles ignored the weapons, preferring to fight the way he always had. He left the room with Shadow following. Sonic moved Tails a bit so he was looking at his face.

"Something wrong?" The fox's silence was making Sonic nervous.

Tails shook his head and leaned against Sonic.

"I'm okay," he said. "Just a little tired. A lot's happened today."

Sonic wrapped his arms around the fox.

"You get some more rest, Tails. I'll keep you safe. Promise."


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of this story.

Chapter Six

-3:00 P.M. Wednesday- New Mobotropolis-

"I don't think we're going to find him," Scourge said. "Finding a person in this mess would be hard, much less a frog."

"I just hope Froggy's all right," Big said.

He was following behind Scourge and seemed to be unaffected by everything happening around them. It was more than a little unnerving. The amount of fog had increased in the time they had been wandering as well. All of it had Scourge on edge, which he supposed was both good and bad. Being too on edge always had him jumping at shadows. With how the town was now, he didn't have to be on edge to jump at shadows. Another shadowy figure moved past them, fortunately not seeing them. Scourge hated those creatures. Every time he looked at them, memories came back to haunt him. Memories he wanted erased.

"What's the matter?" Big had noticed the hedgehog's ears flatten onto his head.

"Nothin', big guy." Yellow eyes peered at him, seeming to know he was lying. "It's just... This situation. I don't like it Those things keep messin' with my head."

"Everything will be all right once we find our friends," Big assured him.

Scourge wished he could believe him. Finding Silver and a frog wasn't going to help matters. It would only ease the sense of dread he had in his heart. Something had happened to Silver; something bad. Noticing anther of those hunched-over things, Scourge ran to the side. No way was it going to control his thoughts again. He had to focus on Silver. Big watched as Scourge intentionally avoided the creature. It amused him to see someone like Scourge avoiding a fight. It just wasn't the hedgehog's nature. The monster ignored Big, seemingly not noticing him. Big hurried over to Scourge.

"Maybe we should try going inside," he suggested. "It would be safer in there. We might even find our friends."

Scourge nodded. The cat was right. They'd never find Silver if they never went inside anywhere. Whoever had taken him wouldn't have him in the open. Not unless they were completely stupid. Looking around, Scourge got cut off his searching when Big pointed to a building to the left of their current location. It was as good a place to start as any.

-3:30 P.M. Wednesday- New Mobotropolis-

The hedgehog was impossible to lose, even with the fog. Luckily, the town had missed whatever had caused the headquarters' change of decoration. A snarl formed on the echidna's muzzle as he was stopped by yet another missing section of land. When the expected tell-tale sound of skates over the cement reached his ears, he turned and yelled.

"Would you stop following me? I don't need a damn babysitter!"

Shadow crossed his arms as his hover skates deactivated. He matched Knuckles' scowl with one of his own. Frankly, he was amazed the hot-headed echidna hadn't thrown a punch at him yet.

"Yeah, sure. Just stand there glaring at me with that tough-guy act you put on for everyone. There's nothing wrong with me. Go find your own- Ahhh!"

Knuckles bent over, arms circling his abdomen as pain shot through him. It was intense, something he'd never experienced before. Tears sprang to his wide, purple eyes. Sharp canines fully exposed themselves as he snarled. As suddenly as it had hit him, it stopped. For a while, all they heard were pants.

"What's going on, Knuckles?" Shadow asked. The worry in his tone was sincere; something was seriously wrong with the guardian.

"I'm... fine." Knuckles stood upright but refused to meet Shadow's eyes. "Maybe I do need someone around." A blush crossed his cheeks, head pointedly turning away from the other. "But not because I need protecting. I'd just be in trouble if that happened while monsters were around me."

A smirk crossed Shadow's muzzle as his head dipped as though in laughter.

"Of course," he said. "Why would a powerful guardian like yourself need protecting?"

Knuckles glowered at him. The midnight hedgehog was more like Sonic than he cared to admit. Perhaps not in the ways of straight personality, but the humor definitely matched at times. Knuckles sighed and walked around the hedgehog. The fog was thicker now, making it difficult to navigate the city. Shadowy figures hiding in the fog didn't help matters at all.

"I've been thinking, Shadow... What if Mina's right, and this does have something to do with NICOLE? She's certainly got enough power."

"I don't think NICOLE would willing put her friends in danger like this." Shadow watched a particularly still figure as they walked by it. "If she's got something to do with this, it isn't of her own will."

"They're staring at us," Knuckles said. "It's unnerving."

More and more of the figures came to stand on the edges of the street, seemingly staring at the two. Tension built in the air around the walking Mobians as their bodies readied for attack. There was no telling what the things were thinking, or what they would do next. The figures remained where they stood, simply watching and observing. Without warning, Knuckles found his hand grabbed by Shadow and he was pulled down the street at an alarming speed. Luckily, his arm wasn't ripped from it's socket. The figures all started running after them at once, unable to catch up with Shadow. The black and red hedgehog didn't stop until they were inside a building which slammed shut behind them. The lock fell into place with a foreboding echo and Shadow released Knuckles' arm. Rubbing his shoulder, Knuckles glared at Shadow.

"We had to get out of there. Now come on. We should get moving."

Knuckles followed, grumbling. The lights were bright, their way made perfectly clear. As far as Shadow was concerned, that was a bad sign. Bright lights during a situation like this just didn't happen. They should be either dim, flickering, or broken. As such, his body was on high alert. The guardian didn't seem to share his thoughts. His expression showed slight pain and more relaxation than anything. It wasn't as if the monsters were within the building. Belatedly, Shadow realized they had run into the hospital.

"You know what you're doing, right?" Knuckles demanded. "I don't want to go back out there anytime soon, but I don't want stuck somewhere with someone who doesn't know what he's getting us into."

"I'm the Ultimate Life Form, of course I know what I'm doing."

Rolling his eyes, Knuckles flopped onto one of the seats in the lobby. The doors were all closed, as if the zombies hadn't been able to get into the building. It should have ben one of the first places the zombies came from. Gun held at the ready, Shadow took a seat beside Knuckles. No sooner had he closed his eyes when a shout had them opening again. Looking to his side, he followed the guardian's gaze. Sitting in his lap was Froggy.

"What are you doing away from Big?" Knuckles asked.

Purple eyes had narrowed at the frog on his thighs. Shadow began to wonder whether or not Knuckles was just a tad paranoid. He leaned back in the seat, closing his eyes again. Knuckles could handle it on his own. It wasn't as if some grotesque monster had come through the door. Ignoring the frog, Knuckles followed Shadow's example. If something came after them, they'd hear it.

-4:00 P.M. Wednesday- New Mobotropolis-

Tails was clinging to Sonic's arm, who was having the unfortunate luck of having to shoot things. It was simply not one of those things he had ever planned on using. Deformed monsters kept coming at him, falling to the ground before they got anywhere close. Tails was terrified, ears flattened to the top of his head. There were no zombies, but he seemed to be in his own little world the past hour. Sonic looked at his face to check how he was doing. Blue eyes still didn't see him, instead staring off into another place entirely. It was a miracle he even managed to follow Sonic's commands at all. But he refused to leave Tails on his own. The thought occurring to him in the first place was strange. It had to be the fog making him think that way. No other explanation existed. At the sound of a whimper, Sonic stopped and sat Tails on the ground. Taking his face in his hands, Sonic gave him a small slap.

"Tails, look at me," he said. "Come on. Don't leave me here by myself."

Tails looked into his eyes, tears forming in his own.

"You're going to leave me too, aren't you?" Sonic shook his head as Tails continued to speak. "Just like mom and dad... Nobody's ever been there for me..."

"Tails, I've been here for you. And I always will be."

"But the people say no one can love me. I don't deserve love from anyone. Not unless I can earn it..."

Sonic had no idea where Tails was getting those ideas. Nobody had ever said anything like that to the fox; not that Sonic knew of. Trying not to let his mind wander too far from the task at hand, he scratched Tails behind one of his ears. This seemed to mildly calm Tails, who moved his head a bit more into Sonic's hand. Yet another deformed creature lurched from the fog at them. Like the rest, it didn't get far. Tails was huddled against Sonic's side, Tails wrapped around himself.

"You gonna be all right Tails?"

Tails nodded.

"Good. Now come on." Lifting Tails as he spoke, Sonic started off down the road. "We should get moving. Don't know where we're going yet."

"Could we just go back to the headquarters?" Tails asked. "That way, when the others return, we'll be there."

"It doesn't matter where we go," Sonic said. "This place'll mess with us regardless. You need to stop listening to the voices in your head and get thinking." Sonic flicked Tails in the nose this time. "Figure out what exactly's going on. These monsters gotta come from somewhere, right?"

"I'm pretty sure they're the other townspeople," Tails said. "Where else would they come from? Certainly not- Sonic? What's wrong?"

"Just don't like killing people I said I'd protect is all," Sonic barely whispered. Kicking a rock, he watched it bounce down the road. "First they turn into monsters out of a movie, now they're demented... _things_."

"Least it isn't Sally."

"Right..."

Pink fur and dead green eyes flashed before Sonic's eyes. Seconds later, energy ripped through a once-beautiful face and the pink hedgehog fell backward. There had been nothing he could do. Just... let her die. One of his closest friends, and he had been unable to keep her alive. He'd failed her. He'd failed to protect Sally's kingdom. And now, he was barely protecting Tails. The world depended on him.

...He'd failed them, too.

"Can't do this Tails," he said. "We should find Sally and 'Twan. We'd be in a larger group, but at least we'd be able to look after each other a little better. Not like these things care how large your group is anyway."

"We should go to the Power Plant then. That's the most likely place to find NICOLE. With any luck, the other's will show up there as well."

Sonic gave Tails a kiss on the head. He wasn't overly thrilled at the thought of sitting around outside in this freakish place, but at least the water couldn't rise and drown them out here. If Tails was safe, Sonic would be fine. Tails was the last person he'd ever let down. If Tails died, that would be the end of it for Sonic. He wouldn't be able to live with himself.

Hopefully, it wouldn't come to that.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of this story.

Chapter Seven

-4:30 P.M. Wednesday- New Mobotropolis-

"Why... won't... these... things... stop?" Zonic snarled between gunshots.

Mina was behind him, cowering against the wall. Her entire body twitched every time Zonic fired his gun. The freaks kept coming, though Zonic couldn't figure out why. Neither of them had any real reason for things to attack them; it should've been safe for them to wander town. Glancing back, he was relieved to see that Mina hadn't gone anywhere.

"You doing all right?"

"I- I think so..."

Large frightened green eyes met his gaze. Looking so much like Sonic, Mina had thought she'd feel safe in his presence. But something about it only frightened her more. When he reached a hand out to help her to her feet, she shrank away. Zonic frowned. Reaching down, he grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet.

"We have to move. Now."

Mina was pulled along behind Zonic as he ran down street. The path wasn't open for long. Luckily, the two were fast enough to get through. Sections of road kept caving in as they approached, leading them in the direction of the coliseum, where she'd held numerous concerts. Mina was fearful, convinced more of the monsters would come out and attack them at any moment. If it came to that, she wasn't sure how long Zonic would be able to protect her. He was bound to run out of bullets eventually. Then where would she be?

"There's a building up ahead," Zonic said. "We should go inside and try to regroup."

"That's the Coliseum," Mina explained. "It's where I held most of my concerts."

"You must be quite the popular singer Mina."

"Why, yes..." Mina's face flushed.

As Mina stood there wondering whether or not his words had been a compliment, Zonic checked the front doors. Luckily, they swung open without many problems. Zonic didn't waste any time pulling Mina through the doors and into the coliseum itself. No one except them were there, though Mina could feel someone watching her as they moved through the empty building. Zonic was at her side, so it couldn't have been him. Every door they tried wouldn't open for one reason or another. Finally, they sat on one of the staircases in the hall. Zonic checked his gun as Mina leaned against him. The entire situation was frightening her; the odds of getting out were beginning to look dim. Zonic wrapped an arm around Mina and kept his gaze on the hall before them. If any of those freaks came at them, he had to be ready. Noises that didn't quite belong echoed through the hall. A rattling here, dragging there, and the random creaking of an old wood floor. The coliseum didn't have wood floors. NICOLE didn't design them that way.

"How you holding up?" The sudden sound of Zonic's voice startled the mongoose.

"Fine," Mina said.

In fact, she was less fine than she wanted him to believe. The noises constantly floating around the building had her nervous. They were abnormal, especially for an empty building. Zonic's arm around her brought comfort to her. She never thought such a familiar place would be so terrifying again. There was no reason for NICOLE to turn against them. That hadn't stopped her from forming the barriers, though. Mina shuddered and pressed closer to Zonic. The Zone Cop didn't seem to mind; he had worries of his own plaguing his mind.

Like where all the monsters were. Monsters of this sort didn't simply leave altogether because you went inside a building. No, they appeared in the building with you when you least expected it. Which was why he was so concerned. Everything he'd read about the Zone of Nightmares had warned about the monsters. Everyone had something hidden deep within the confines of their mind. Whether they remembered it or not. Only children were spared, but they'd have to be young an innocent to the harshness of the world. Zonic looked at Mina, who kept shivering against him. It didn't come from the cold, he was sure of that. It must've been something on her mind.

"What's troubling you?" he asked. "It's best to get it out now, rather than wait until something happens."

"NICOLE... She's made the city a prison before, I wouldn't be surprised if she was doing it again. I'm just scared we won't make it out of here. With those monsters and no way out of the city..."

Zonic rubbed the singer's back.

"We'll fix this mess," he assured her. "Everything will be okay before you know it."

-5:00 P.M. Wednesday- New Mobotropolis-

"NICOLE!" Sally yelled. "Come on. I need to talk to you!"

"Princesse, I do not zink zat is ze best of ideas," Antoine said.

Sally looked at him. The coyote was right. She just didn't know how else to find NICOLE. Sally sat on a fallen section of a house. Everything was beginning to take it's toll on her. They'd been looking for NICOLE for close to two-and-a-half hours. Nothing had really come after them, though that was more due to Antoine's skills at avoiding danger. Every time a monster came out of hiding, Antoine got them away from it. Sally had decided a while ago that she shouldn't have bothered taking a gun with her. Antoine was eager to get in front of her and protect her from all the dangers, as well. Sally turned to say something to Antoine when a new sound reached their ears. It was a squeaking sound, like the kind old wheelchairs had.

"Why would there be...?" Sally looked around until her eyes finally landed on a shape moving through the fog. It was moving slowly, as though it was having difficulties. Sally moved past Antoine, going toward the creature.

"Zat is not a good idea as well," Antoine groaned. He followed Sally without a second thought.

The creature, upon closer inspection, turned out to be King Maximilian Acorn. He was slumped backward, staring up at the sky. A chill raced down Antoine's spine at the sight. Something was wrong. He could feel it.

"Sally, per'aps you should stay away from eet."

The princess ignored his words. Antoine had been jumping at nearly everything, with random bursts of bravery.

"Father? Are you all right?" The king didn't respond in any way. The only movement was his white hair ruffling in the breeze.

"Sally..." Antoine whimpered as he followed the princess. "Your pere, he is dead. Zat is not 'im."

"Father." Sally shook Max. She'd lost him once already, and nearly lost him numerous times after that. She didn't want to go through that again. "Father, look at me. I need to know you're all right."

"How's it feel?" NICOLE's voice echoed through the now-still air. "You couldn't do anything to save him. You didn't even try."

"I... I didn't have a choice," Sally said. "The zombies were everywhere... He..."

Laughter echoed around. Something sounded sinister about the laughter. It wasn't like NICOLE.

"_I didn't have a choice..._" NICOLE mocked Sally's voice. That disturbing laughter echoed around again. "Of course you had a choice. You always have a choice. You chose to leave him. If you had only looked for him..."

"S-Sally..." Max's voice was low, as though it had been out of use for a long time. Sally turned back to her father, who was now looking up at her.

"Princesse!" Antoine yelled. Moving, he got between Sally and Max. "Zat is not your pere. Zat is a monster looking like 'im."

"Brave boy, I didn't think you had it in you." A rasping chuckle came from the body in the wheelchair. "You were always the coward of the group. The weakest link as it were. If it had come down to it, you could have gotten every last one of your friends killed."

Antoine flinched at he king's words. He knew the king was right. If it came down to him, all of his friends would be killed. Cowardice was his forte.

"Sally would've been more than happy to be rid of you. The Freedom Fighters didn't have a need for a coward."

"Silence!" Antoine pointed his sabre at the fake king. "I am not so easily fooled! You are not ze king."

"This place does many things, Antoine," NICOLE said. "How are you so sure that isn't the king?"

Sally looked around, but NICOLE still hadn't made an actual appearance. Unnoticed by anyone, something was slithering across the ground toward Sally.

"Because ze king would never say such zings!" Antoine's sabre remained pointed at the squirrel.

"You can't kill him. He's your king. You have a sworn duty, Antoine." NICOLE appeared directly behind the coyote, leaning on his back to whisper in his ear. "You don't want to disappoint dear daddy do you?"

_Why do you 'ave to be such a coward? I 'ave been teaching you better zan zis!_ Antoine's ears lowered as he heard his father scolding him. He preferred to remember the man for the kind father he was, not the strict teacher he could be.

_I 'ave been protecting ze Acorn family for years. My son will not be allowed to fail in zese duties passed to 'im._

Antoine had already failed his father in that regard. He had allowed his cowardice to get the better of him countless times. As a result, he had yet to take his place as the general as his father wished. Antoine decided then. But he'd made a promise to protect Princess Sally. No matter the enemy, he would protect her. Determination flaring in those blue eyes, he drew back his sabre. Moments later, it was piercing through the body of the former king. Sally screamed behind him as NICOLE cackled. The lynx was cut off as Antoine spun, slicing through her holographic form as well.

Blood dripped onto the ground from the tip of his sabre as he approached the angry princess. Once he was within range, Sally's hand hit the side of his muzzle with a stinging slap. Tears had come to her eyes; tears Antoine couldn't bear to see.

"Mon princesse... I was 'aving no choice in ze matter. Zat zing would 'ave killed us if I 'ad failed to kill eet."

"That thing looked like my father! How could you just-"

Sally's angry question was cut off by a scream as her ankles were grabbed and she was hoisted into the air.

"Antoine!" she yelled. "Help me!"

It was a situation Sally couldn't get herself out of. Her kicks were the best defensive moves she had. Now that they'd been taken form her she was unable to do anything but yell for help. Antoine rushed forward, but couldn't see where the thing holding the princess had come from. It was concealed by the fog somewhere. The thing vanished along with Sally. Antoine ran in the direction it had gone, but it was no use. The fog had gotten too thick.

"Damn eet." Antoine set off in the direction it had gone, fully intent on rescuing the princess before something happened to her.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of this story.

Chapter Eight

-5:00 P.M. New Mobotropolis Hospital-

"We still haven't found Silver," the green hedgehog lamented.

They'd been through five buildings before entering the hospital. There had been no sign of Silver. Big seemed considerably les than concerned. With how he'd been acting through the entire situation, Scourge figured it wasn't that strange. Creatures looking like beautiful, faceless nurses continuously attacked them. Fortunately, Scourge knew how to win a knife fight. Big was saved by the pure strength his large frame endowed him with. The hospital had gotten darker and darker the longer they wandered. Lights barely lit anything, most of the windows were now boarded up, and things kept showing up where they didn't belong. Like the blood on the floor. It was everywhere. Every hallway had it. Every room they looked into, it was on the bed sheets. Rust covered every metal piece making up the building. He'd tried to ask Big what he thought about it, but the cat hadn't answered him.

The next door that opened led to what was set p like some kind of office. A large desk was pushed against the far wall, illuminated by a small lamp on the corner. A figure was hunched over the desk, though Scourge couldn't tell who or what it was from the angle he was at. Taking another step forward, he was confused as he felt someone run past him. It was a young blue hedgehog, running over to the other. When he pulled on the other's cape, Scourge felt something rise in his throat.

_"Daddy! Mommy said you'd-" _The child's voice sounded pleading, like he didn't know what else to do.

_"I'm busy, Sonic. Some other time." _The taller didn't even look at the child. He was too busy with h is job. He was always too busy with his job.

The small hedgehog's ears drooped down as he turned and left the room. Scourge watched him as ears welled up in his own eyes. His father had never had any time for him. Even after peace had reigned over all of Moebius. The blue hedgehog appeared in the center of the room, an angry snarl covering his muzzle.

_"Everything I've worked so hard for is falling apart around me. Can't we do this some other time?"_

_Sonic's hands clenched into fists at his sides. _

_"You never have time for me! The world's goin' to hell either way. You might as well give up on it and-"_

_"I said; not right now." _

_"When then? I've been waiting years for you to acknowledge me once! Mother never found the time to care about me, you were always busy with your job-"_

_"I do not have the time for this." Jules moved past the younger hedgehog in the room. "If you want attention so badly, go make a name for yourself. Find someone who actually cares about you."_

_Sonic looked to the floor as trembling overtook his frame. The door slammed behind his father as he fell to the floor. _

Scourge looked at the trembling hedgehog with pity. He had looked like that, hadn't he? All alone, pathetically sobbing into his arms on the floor. Reaching out, he lay a hand on the hedgehog's back. All he'd ever wanted was love... affection... It was then that Scourge had decided what he was going to do. He would give his father a reason to be proud of him.

_Sonic was sitting on his father this time. The knife in his hand was buried to the hilt in his father's chest. Warm, sticky blood seeped from the wound. Wide, tearful green eyes stared at the blood. Sobs filled the rom as Sonic lowered his head to his father's chest. Salty tears trickled down his cheeks onto the chest under his face. _

_"I'm sorry," he sobbed. "I didn't have... There was no other way for me to..."_

"What's going on?" Big asked.

Scourge couldn't look at the cat when he answered him.

"Nothing. Let's get outta here. Still gotta find our friends."

Scourge hurried out of the room past Big. The large cat simply stood looking at the center of the room. What the hedgehog had seen, he couldn't. He could hear sobbing, though. Once confusion made up his expression, he left the room. Scourge hadn't gone far. In fact, he was waiting for Big. Blood was trickling down the wall he was leaning against. Scourge paid no attention to it. Pulsating blobs of flesh pierced by knives lined the floor. Scourge was pointedly ignoring them. They walked down the hall and were about to turn the corner when a door swung open. Stepping forward, Scourge looked in.

The room was small, not at all what he'd been expecting. With no windows and a light switch that didn't work, the room was dark. Something about the room felt off. Against his better judgment, Scourge moved farther into the room. Once his eyes had adjusted, he turned to leave. Big was standing right behind him, blocking his way.

"Nobody's in here," Scourge said. "We should just go."

Large hands grabbing his arms held him in place. Scourge looked at the hands before up at the purple cat. Big had a smile on his face, though it wasn't one anyone would expect from him. It was a rather creepy smile, stretched cross his muzzle. Yellow eyes shone with what could only be evil intentions. Wriggling, the hedgehog was quick to find that Big had a tight grip on him.

"Let go of me dammit!"

Scourge tried to kick Big as another attempt to get out of the other's hands. It didn't work. Rather than allow him to kick him, Big held Scourge out at arm's length. This made it more difficult for Scourge to do anything. Snarling through his pointed teeth, Scourge glared at the cat. Big merely smirked and slammed him onto the springy bed Scourge had seen earlier. Heart rate increasing, Scourge tried to get off the bed. Those large hands grabbed him and pushed him onto the bed again. Wires came up around the corners of the bed, wrapping themselves around Scourge's arms and legs. The wires were tight, too tight. Scourge winced as Big turned away from him.

"What the hell are you doing?" Scourge yelled. "Don't you dare leave me here, you-"

A sharp slap to the side of his face silenced him. Blue eyes widened with shock as he turned to the source of the slap. Standing at the side of the spring bed was Smalls. Or rather, something resembling Smalls. it was large and fat, with two long things sticking off the sides of it's head. Scourge wriggled in an attempt to loosen the bonds around his appendages. Glowing yellow eyes gazed down at him with amusement.

"Don't you fucking touch me!"

The creature seemed to gain farther amusement from his struggles. Legs spread wide over the springs, Scourge began to fear what was going to happen next. The creature resembling Smalls moved over him as it's face split into a wide grin. Scourge turned his face away from the sight. A disfigured, twisted hand grabbed his cheek and forcibly turned his gaze back to it. A snarl came back as Scourge futilely attempted to wriggle himself free once again. The mass of flesh moved over top of him in the bed. Scourge looked down to see it had an erection sticking off of it's lower half. The snarl faded away to shock then worry. That thing would never fit; it was too big. Unlike Smalls had been.

_"You better be quiet," Smalls growled into his face. The larger cat was heavily leaning on his body. The springs beneath him were sure to leave marks..._

"That's not gonna fit, dumbass." Despite the situation, Scourge tried to remain himself. He'd suffered through this humiliation before. He couldn't allow himself to do it again. If only he could get the wires off of him, he could get away. Those disfigured hands lifted his rear as he tried to get away. Tears welled up in blue eyes as the erection forced it's way into him. The monster above made an odd sound he could only assume came from pleasure. As much as he tried, he couldn't get his body to relax. the monster started a rough, fast pace. The hedgehog saw no reason to hold it in. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he screamed.

-5:00 P.M. New Mobotropolis Hospital-

Shadow woke after sleeping longer than he'd been expecting to. Right before his eyes was a peach chest slightly covered with an open white dress. Blinking away the sleepiness, Shadow tried to make sense of it. A low moaning reached his ears as whoever was in his lap continued their motions. looking up, Shadow felt his face grow hot. Color rushed to his cheeks as he stared up at the last person he'd been expecting. A peach muzzle with parted lips was pointing in the direction of the ceiling. Blue quills brushed his knees as peach hands griped his shoulders. Shadow closed his eyes, enjoying the sensations as the Hero of Mobius continued grinding against him. The movement stopped suddenly, and the next thing he felt was cold steel piercing into his chest. Eyes wide with shock, Shadow stared at the face before him. It was Sonic, yet not Sonic. Bandages covered most of his face, with one eyes showing clearly between wraps. Rather than the vibrant green he liked, this eye was a dull color. Head cocked to the side, 'Sonic' stared at the wound he'd inflicted upon Shadow.

"What's the matter?" Shadow growled. "Didn't know I can't die?"

In a fluid motion, Shadow ripped the scalpel out of his chest and pierced the creature in the heart with it. She fell back to the floor with a short scream. The noise awoke the echidna, who was now looking at him.

"You're hurt. What happened?"

"It's nothing I can't heal." Shadow stared down at the nurse-thing in confusion. Taking his eyes off the creature, it occurred to him that they weren't in the same room they'd fallen asleep in. The rusted metal frame of the building showed through gaping holes in the walls. Blood coated the floor in various places. It certainly wasn't what a hospital was supposed to look like. Getting up, Knuckles went and tried the door. It was locked.

"What's wrong with the building?" Knuckles asked. Shadow didn't look at him as he stood and responded.

"You probably did something in your sleep. It wouldn't be the first time you caused this."

Shadow started going to the other side of the room. Footsteps soon proved Knuckles was following him. The sound of large industrial fans could be heard throughout the building. Last Shadow knew, New Mobotropolis didn't have giant industrial fans. The echidna came up right behind him. Shadow opened the door and looked into the hallway. Another one of those Sonic look-alikes were there. Knuckles looked as well, wrinkling his nose at the sight.

"What is that thing?"

"All I know is it has Sonic's face," Shadow growled.

A Chaos Spear quickly took care of it. As they walked past it, Knuckles looked down at it. As far as he could tell, it looked nothing like Sonic. It's face was missing from what he could see. Pain shot through his abdomen then, more powerfully than before. Snarling quietly, Knuckles looked to make sure Shadow hadn't noticed. He didn't want to be a nuisance any more than he had to be. He was strong enough to ignore pain. Placing a hand on his abdomen, Knuckles repeated it to himself. His head listened better than his body. All the doors down the length of the hall and Knuckles cursed his luck. Shadow prepared more Chaos Spears as the things attacked them with scalpels. Knuckles flipped one over his shoulder when she went to stab him. Punching her in the chest, the spikes on his glove pierced into her body. Blood spurted from the wound as he left her to bleed to death. Another got kicked into the wall before a Chaos Spear ran her through. Shadow was having minor difficulties stemming from the fact that every single one of them had Sonic's looks. Even the voice sounded close to Sonic's. Froggy was hopping around Knuckles' feet, somehow managing to keep himself alive. The amount of Chaos Energy in the air was enough to suffocate someone. The two Mobians could feel the energy seeping into their bodies, helping them fight.

By the time every last one of the nurses lay on the floor dying, Knuckles' abdomen was killing him. Whatever was wrong with him didn't want him fighting. He couldn't hide it from Shadow this time. The pain was too great. Gasping in pain, the proud echidna leaned against a nearby wall before sliding to the floor. Something was definitely wrong with him. Shadow rushed to his side and knelt on the floor.

"What's wrong?" His voice was filled with concern. Another oddity about the situation.

"My abdomen." Knuckles paused to gasp again before continuing. "It won't stop hurting. All the fighting... made it hurt more."

Staring at the other's lower torso, Shadow noticed something unsettling. Moving the guardian's hand, Shadow had his own to trace the unusual curve. Ridges knitting together in confusion, Shadow leaned forward to inspect closer. Knuckles felt his face flush as Shadow's breath washed over him.

"You know what's wrong with me or not?" The closeness was unsettling him.

When Shadow looked up, his scarlet eyes were full of concern. Placing a hand on Knuckles' leg, he moved it away from the other. Without thinking of the consequences, he peered between the echidna's red thighs. Cheeks now matching his fur, Knuckles landed a kick in Shadow's face. Now sporting a bruise on one cheek, Shadow glared up at Knuckles. He hadn't seen anything. Hadn't really been expecting anything.

"What the hell was that for?" Knuckles yelled.

"Relax. There's nothing there. I was just-"

"Of course there's nothing there! I'm a guy, why the hell would I have a vagina?"

Shadow moved to place his hands on Knuckles' shoulders. There really was no way around this.

"Knuckles, I think you might be pregnant." Knuckles' anger vanished instantly replacing itself with horror and confusion. "Don't look at me like that. It's your body."

"I'm a virgin! How the hell would I... This doesn't make any sense! You're wrong, you've got to be!"

Wincing, Knuckles tried to curl into a ball. Shadow's hands prevented it. Wrapping his arms around the guardian, Shadow pulled him against him. Stroking the back of his head, Shadow was just glad nobody was here to witness it. For both their sakes. Before he knew it, Knuckles' strong frame was shaking in his arms as he felt tears soaking his fur.

For Knuckles, it was the worst moment of his life. Breaking down like this in front of anyone was disgraceful. The fact that the hedgehog was holding him like some upset woman or child only made matters worse. Though he had to admit, Shadow's fingers running through his quills felt nice. A light kiss to the top of his head had his cheeks flushing again. Before he could say anything, another made their presence known.

"What's wrong with Knuckles?"

Big was standing down the hall, past all the dead creatures. The sight didn't seem to faze him at all. After what had been happening the past day, Shadow decided Big must've seen enough to be used to it. Tears of happiness welled up in the cat's eyes as Froggy hopped over to him.

"Froggy!"

A miniscule smile tugged at the corners of Shadow's mouth. Same old Big. Shifting position, he failed to notice Knuckles' sudden stillness.

"How'd you get here Big?" Shadow asked.

"I was with Amy Rose this morning until we got separated. Then those things happened and I got separated from Froggy. I was looking for them when I found a green hedgehog who looked like Sonic. But he wasn't Sonic, and turned out to be looking for his friend too. So I went with him and we ended up in here. I don't know what happened to him. We got separated after some of those monsters appeared and I've been looking for him too. But now I've found Froggy, so it's not all bad!"

"You were with Scourge?"

"He said he was looking for Silver." Big nodded as he spoke. Froggy was on his shoulder now, which was probably the safest place for the frog.

"Well, he's strong. I'm sure he'll be fine."

A scream echoed down the hall as Shadow assured Big. Full of pain and terror, there was no way it was a monster. And it sounded too much like Sonic for Shadow to ignore. Standing, he looked at Knuckles' face to make sure he was all right. Seeing nothing worrying, he turned to Big.

"Could you look after him?"

Big nodded, smile still on his face. Knuckles reluctantly moved closer to Big as Shadow skated down the hall to find the source of the scream. Luckily, shouts kept coming like the yelling in a heavy metal song. As it began mixing with broken sobbing, Shadow felt a pang of pity. He'd never heard something so heart-wrenching in his life. Ears twitching, Shadow let the sounds lead his feet. The door he found himself at was tightly shut. Sobbing still reached his ears, as well as low grunting. Grimacing, Shadow kicked the door open. His reaction to the sight was instant. Three Chaos Spears burst through the creature over Scourge. Blood gushed onto the green hedgehog as the wires slid off him. Shaking and humiliated, Scourge brought his hands up to cover his face. The ebony hedgehog made his way over to the green one. Pity made it's way onto his face despite his attempts not to let it.

"G-Get the hell away from me." Scourge's voice was shaking as much as his body. "Don't need your fuckin' pity..."

"I understand that, but after what you just-"

"Don't you fuckin' talk about that!" Scourge sat up, hurting himself in the process. Anger had flared in his eyes as humiliation burned his cheeks. "You think I deserve it, admit it! I deserve every amount of pain ever inflicted on me!"

"What are you talking about?"

Scourge wiped his face on a dirty sleeve of his jacket. The action was rendered useless as tears kept coming. Sobs overrode his speaking when he tried. Shadow couldn't help himself. Knowing it was one of the last things Scourge probably wanted, he wrapped is arms around the other. Scourge buried his face in Shadow's shoulder. As he'd done with Knuckles, Shadow soon found his fingers combing through Scourge's quills. The leaf-colored hedgehog's shaking calmed as he felt the touch. Eyes closed, Shadow sighed and looked to the ceiling.

"Nobody's wishing pain upon you," he said.

"I've been put through it before," Scourge said. "Numerous times. I just..."

Shadow quieted him with a low growl. Blue eyes above a tear-streaked muzzle looked up at Shadow.

"Take as long as you need."

Shadow sat on the bed with Scourge, who hadn't quite stopped his sobbing.

"How'd you end up here, anyway?"

Scourge pushed away from Shadow's chest. Anger was blazing in his eyes.

"Big. He put me here, and when those wires came up around me..." Shaking had come into his frame once again, this time from anger. "He left me there. If I ever see that fuckin' bastard again, I'm gonna-"

"Big did that?" Shadow was worried now. "I left Knuckles alone with him. We have to go. Now, Scourge."


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of this story.

Chapter Nine

-5:00 P.M. New Mobotropolis Coliseum-

A noise down the hall grabbed Zonic's attention. It sounded almost as if someone was calling for help. Knowing it would be a dumb idea to leave Mina alone, he ignored it. When the call came a second time, he gently shook Mina. Soon, her large green eyes were looking up into his own. Sleep hadn't quite left her gaze, making Zonic feel guilty.

"I keep hearing something," he said. "You can either come with me or stay right here."

"I'll stay here," she yawned. "You said it's safe. I'll just go back to sleep."

Zonic stood and watched as she lay her head down again, curling around herself. Mina heard as he left the rom, closing the door behind him. It had been one horrible thing after another today. Mina wasn't sure how much more of it she could take.

_I lie awake in my bed... just can't sleep, full of dread... will the nightmares come for me this time?_

_In the day, in the night... never knowing, full of fright... why won't anyone listen?_

Mina sat and looked toward the door as the singing started. She knew those lyrics; she was the one who wrote them. Getting up, she opened the door as the song continued.

_I can't always be jumping at shadows! I can't always be running away!_

Ironically, Mina was jumping at shadows. The entire situation had her spooked. Monsters could be lurking anywhere with the way the city had changed. But she had to know who was singing. Someone could need her help.

_I won't be afraid! I'll save myself!... I won't be afraid! I'll save myself!_

As she approached the back section of the stage, she tensed a bit. It was now or never.

_She's everywhere, everything... but heroes aren't listening... we're all left prone, unprotected!_

"Hello Mina." NICOLE turned to look at the startled mongoose. As she turned, the music died down. "Poor, poor Mina. You've been left unprotected again." NICOLE walked toward the singer as she started backing away. "And by the one who said he'd protect you, too."

"I told him to go without me," Mina protested. "He didn't leave me."

"Tell me, Mina. How do you plan on protecting yourself?" NICOLE circled Mina, stroking a hand through her soft purple hair. "You haven't had to fight in a while, you're terrified of gunshots, and I highly doubt you have the capabilities to shut me down."

Mina knew the hologram was right. It would be impossible to hit her as she was. She still had her speed, though. Running past NICOLE, Mina had to skid to a stop before she crashed into the door slamming shut in front of her. The lock clicked in place and she stared in horror. It was happening again.

"You didn't really think I'd let you escape, did you?" NICOLE's voice was dripping with anger. "Not after what you did to me."

"You said you forgave me!" Mina couldn't believe what was happening.

"After what you did? I thought you were my friend, Mina!" Tears were beginning to form in the lynx's eyes. "You turned the entire city against me! I worked so hard to help these people, to help you, and all of you turned against me. You only apologized so Sonic and Sally weren't angry with you anymore!"

"No! I didn't mean to! I was just trying to tell the people that they had to learn how to protect themselves, to not depend so much on Sonic and the Freedom Fighters. I never meant for everyone to turn against you. I-"

"Liar!" NICOLE's voice echoed through the room. It effectively silenced everything Mina had been planning to say. "You _chose_ to write those lyrics. You could've written anything! But you _chose _to spread fear and anger among the citizens! Different words could've gotten your point across!"

Mina backed away, fearful of what NICOLE was going to do. She was beyond angry, it was clear in her eyes. At this point in time, Mina doubted even Sally would be able to get the computer program to calm down. Electricity was coming off her in small bursts. The room around them was changing shape. It was unsettling to be reminded just how much power NICOLE had over the city. Which was what Mina had been worried about in the first place. NICOLE had too much power as far as she was concerned.

"So what? You're going to sink to Shadow's levels? Using all your power in ways it shouldn't be used?"

"You don't know what it's like to have an entire city hating you. After everything you did for them, after helping them in ways only you could, then to have them turn against you after one incident!"

"Hurting me won't solve anything! Haven't you learned a thing from Sonic?" Mina knew it was probably a desperate move. "He'd be against this and you know it!"

"He doesn't know how it feels either. They couldn't possibly know what I'm going through. And you Mina... You're the cause of all my pain." NICOLE pet the side of Mina's face. "You willingly hurt and betrayed me. I know what I put you through. But did you honestly believe I would hurt the people I want so desperately to live together with? Did you?"

"You're frightening me..."

"Answer the question! Did you or did you not think that?"

Mina shrank away from NICOLE. The program had never acted this way before. It was more than a little frightening.

"N-No. Of course I didn't-"

"Stop lying to me, Mina." NICOLE pulled away from the frightened mongoose. "I knew what I was doing. I knew how terrified everyone was. You're song made it all painfully clear to me, more painfully than seeing it all happen with my own eyes. I had hurt my friends, my family, everyone I wanted to help."

"Then just make it up to them," Mina said. "Prove that you can be trusted."

"To who?" NICOLE's voice was faint. "You or everyone else? Nobody else is left. The city's been torn apart. Everything I worked so hard to accomplish has been destroyed."

"We can rebuild. After all this is over, we can help you rebuild the city. We'll find whoever else is alive on the planet, and help them too. Then we can all start over."

Mina watched NICOLE walk around the rom as she spoke. The other's movements were worrying her. All the numbers running up and down the bleachers made no sense to her. A robotizer was standing in the center of the stage, powered up and ready for use. Microphones hung from the ceiling NICOLE had created.

"You see, Mina... It's hard to trust again after a friend betrays you so horribly. You do know what you did to me, don't you? Exiled from the city _I _so selflessly made for everyone who needed a home. I could've used the nanites for my own personal amusement. Instead, I made a home for everyone. None of you could possibly understand the sheer pain I was put through. No contact to the outside world, save for those who came to see me. Not many wanted to see me, of course. But you wanted that, didn't you."

"NICOLE, stop. You're putting yourself in an endless loop. We've all ready been through this. I didn't mean for any of that to happen. I never wanted you exiled."

"Shadow has a point, you know." NICOLE had chosen to ignore Mina's pleading voice. "He comes to me, more often than people would think. He told me something. Something I took to heart. He said; 'When someone you love betrays you, you should do your best to forget about them. If you just can't... Maybe you should erase them from your life.' I had no idea what he was talking about at the time. In fact, I still don't know what he'd been talking about. But those words have stuck with me. I loved you, Mina. You were truly someone I could call my friend."

"Shadow didn't say anything about hurting them!" Mina couldn't believe NICOLE. She was supposed to be smarter than this, above all of it. "Maybe you shouldn't have programmed yourself to have feelings."

"I wanted to know what it felt like to have feelings! After seeing all of you running around, enjoying life and all it had to offer, I couldn't help myself. I gave myself feelings because I wanted to be part of you."

Mina still didn't like how she was walking around, tugging on the microphones.

"You're not making any sense. You can't want to be part of the group if you don't have feelings. And why would Shadow be talking to you?"

"Perhaps he felt I could help where other's can't. I can keep a secret much better than that whorish thief he calls his friend." NICOLE looked over at Mina, holding one of the microphones. "Don't change the subject. Come here."

Mina shook her head. She didn't like where this was going. That look in her eyes was one she couldn't trust. Green enveloped her arms and legs. Completely against her will, she felt herself moving toward the lynx. When she was close enough, she felt the wire wrap around her throat. Terrified green eyes looked into NICOLE's. The wire was wrapped tight and she felt herself lifted off the ground. Air getting cut off, she reached toward NICOLE. NICOLE simply turned and left the area. Mina was left hanging as the song that had so upset NICOLE played over and over through the room.

-5:30 P.M. New Mobotropolis Coliseum-

Zonic had been walking around the building and hadn't found anything yet. Whatever had been calling out was either hiding or not there. The appearance of the building had changed just a few minutes ago. Music had also started up, though he couldn't fathom why. When he had gotten back to the rom, Mina wasn't there. Zombies were coming from rooms around the room. Zonic could've sworn they'd all been killed when Silent Hill had begun molding with the city. But here they were, going after him like a starving animal finally finding food. A shot to the head was the most attention Zonic gave to any of them. Until he showed his face. What he was doing there, disobeying orders, Zonic didn't know.

What he did know was that there was no way he could kill him. So he ran. Finding the songstress was still his top priority.

Instead, he found NICOLE. Lying in the center of the hall, flickering.

"Are you all right?"

He dropped to a knee beside her form. NICOLE glanced up at him, barely turning her head. Tears had streaked down through her furry cheeks. Shaking her head, she buried her face in her arms. Zonic placed his hands on her sides and lifted her from the floor. Placing her face on his chest, Zonic rocked her from side to side. NICOLE gasped an sobbed, clinging to his uniform. Zonic ran a hand down her back, hoping the caress would make her feel better.

"I... I just k-killed Mina," she sobbed. "I knew what I was doing, but... but I couldn't..."

"It's all right," Zonic said. "You couldn't control yourself. This town has that affect on people."

NICOLE looked up at him, long ears drooping downward.

"It pulls out those things you don't like thinking about. Everything you hate about yourself, everything you hate about other people. What you fear the most, things from your worst nightmares..." Zonic trailed off as he held her against him. "Everyone's looking for you. Let's go find them."

NICOLE nodded, standing with the zone cop. Zonic gave her a smile and started leading her down the hall. Whether NICOLE would tell the others what had happened or not was up to her. But he had to get her with everyone else. Nobody else could take down her barriers.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of this story.

Chapter 10

-5:00 P.M. New Mobotropolis, outside the power plant-

"When are the others going to get here, Sonic?" Tails was cuddled on Sonic's side, tails curled around the both of them. His head was resting against Sonic's shoulder. Sonic had an arm around the young fox.

"Hopefully soon."

Sonic stared off down the road. He swore he kept seeing water rising and falling like an ocean on the shore of the beach. Which would be impossible, since there was no incline and no water in that area of town. Sonic held Tails tighter and hoped it went away before it reached his feet.

"You two!" A yell came up the hill. "I am requiring help! I 'ave lost ze princesse!" Antoine ran over to them, waving his sword arm. Stopping in front of them, he looked at Tails. "He is not all right?"

"Tails is fine," Sonic said. "He's just a little tired. What'd you say about losing Sally?"

"I was wiz ze princesse, and zen 'is Majeste appeared, but it was not 'is Majeste, and when I stabbed eet, mon princesse got upset wiz me, and zen I allowed 'er to be stolen by somezing."

"Stolen?" Tails asked. "By what?"

"NICOLE was zere, but she was seeming like anozer person. She left right before mon princesse got stolen."

"So, if we find NICOLE, we find Sally."

It was simple in Sonic's mind. NICOLE knew everything about the city. If they found her, she could tell them what happened to Sally and where she was. The only problem was the fact that nobody had any idea where NICOLE had gone off to. And even if they did, there'd be no way of getting through to her. Tails stood at the same time as Sonic.

"We should try the castle," Tails said. "It seems like the most obvious place for Sally to end up, according to what Zonic said earlier."

"What do you mean by zat?"

"He said the town pulls out things we don't like thinking about. Chances are, almost all of Sally's have something to do with the castle."

Antoine set off to the castle in a hurry. Sonic trotted after him, making sure Tails was right with him.

"You really care about her, don't you."

Antoine didn't look at him.

"I 'ave made it quite certain zat I do," he said. "But neizer of you ever listened. Instead ze group of you made fun of me. You in particular 'ave 'urt ze feelings I 'ave."

"Well, impress her enough, and Sally's yours." Sonic meant every word of it. He'd had enough of being a princess's boyfriend. It had turned out to be a lot more work than he'd been thinking it was. "Heck, with how brave you've been being recently, I wouldn't be surprised if she all ready had something for you."

"I was only brave because I 'ad to be," Antoine said. A pout formed on his face. "Someone 'ad to protect ze princesse."

Sonic chuckled and shook his head. Antoine could be so hopeless sometimes. Tails shook a bit, staring off to the side of the road they were on. Looking at his face, Sonic saw that he was frightened of whatever it was. In the same direction the fox was looking, Sonic couldn't see anything. All that was over there was a bunch of highly-concentrated fog. Petting his little brother, Sonic pulled him close. Tails allowed the touch to soothe him, if only because he knew Sonic wasn't at all like the voices he kept hearing. He was always there for him, no mater what else was going on. Even Sally had been put aside for him. If it wasn't for Sonic, he would've died hours ago. Loyalty like that wasn't something you could fake. For that, Tails would forever be grateful.

Soon enough, the castle came into view. With it came a change of scenery. The ground transformed to rusted metal grating. The moat was filled to the brim with a red that could only be blood. The castle itself had definitely seen better days. The front doors were broken down, and many of the windows had been shattered. It was quite obvious that NICOLE had been neglecting her duties. The drawbridge was still there, much to the group's relief. It made it much easier to cross the moat and enter the castle. Once inside, all three couldn't help but wrinkle their noses in disgust. The scent of rotting flesh permeated the air in the room. Sure, they'd seen their fair share of battlegrounds, but those had dead robots, not Mobians. And the sight wasn't half as horrific as the one they'd come across. Half-eaten corpses lay in pools of their own blood. Creatures like the ones they'd been seeing were also in the room, but those were lying motionless on the floor. Antoine shrunk back a little behind Sonic. They were expecting an attack at any moment.

They had gotten halfway across the room when they heard it. Ears perked up, listening intently. When they heard it again, all three broke into a run. Bursting into the throne room, they found Sally. Tied up on the throne and wearing a dress of bloody skin, she whimpered again. Thread had her mouth sewed closed as tears poured down her cheeks. The Crown of Acorns sat upon her head, neatly nestled in her red hair. The Sword of Acorns was leaned against the side of the throne, awaiting use.

Rushing to her side, Antoine took her face in her hands.

"Are you all right, mon princesse?"

Sally couldn't respond, though she tried anyway. All the coyote understood was pained whimpers. Sonic came up from behind Antoine.

"Something's not right here," he stated. "Why would she be left like this? It isn't-"

From the other side of the door came maniacal laughter. A rotund human entered the room then. Wiping a tear from his eyes, Doctor Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik applauded the scene.

"Wonderful. If I may ask, why is the young queen in so much pain? She enjoys being in charge so much, you think she'd be happy about her new position."

Sonic felt a growl rising in his throat. He may not have been with Sally any more, but she was still his friend.

"Did you do this to her?"

"Me? Of course not." Eggman seemed amused by the entire thing. "It's not my style."

Antoine watched Eggman with caution. Something seemed off about the fat man. He was sure Sonic had noticed as well. Looking to each other, they nodded. Before they could make any moves, Eggman wagged a finger at them.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," he said. "Leave her, and your precious princess might get herself killed. She's so good at putting herself in dangerous situations, after all."

Growling, the two stood down. It would do them no good to leave Sally like that. Tails wasn't much of a guardian, and there wasn't any way she could defend herself. As they watched, Eggman's body began convulsing. Before anyone could properly react to the sight, the skin of his face peeled back around, exposing his muscle. A twisted grin drew back the muscles making up his mouth. A ragged split covered the rest of his skin and clothes, peeling back to expose the entirety of his body. Disgusted, Tails turned and vomited onto the floor beside the throne. Sharp rusted metal tore through his body with a rush of blood. Blank eyes stared up at the ceiling as that same smile split his face wide. Cannons materialized on each side of the now-ruined body. Setting their sights on Sonic and Antoine, a red glow began forming in the barrel of both cannons. Without hesitation, Sonic grabbed the Sword of Acorns and sliced through the ropes on one of Sally's sides. She moved forward into his arms as one of his hands found Tails'. Waiting for the right moment, the group jumped as the cannons fired. Both shots ripped through the throne and the wall behind it. Tails looked fearfully from his place on the floor. If those blasts had hit them, they would've been vaporized. Antoine felt the fear and cowardice creeping up on him again. Against such a monstrosity, how were they expected to survive? His sword was likely to be ineffective, and Sonic could only do so much with his spines. With the group unable to do anything, they did what was typically Antoine's job.

They fled. Into other parts of the castle. Not together, of course. That would make things too easy for the monstrosity that used to be Eggman. Rather, they fled in separate directions through separate doors. It wasn't exactly the best strategy. Especially with all the unexpected changes taking place around the city. But it was the best they could come up with on such short notice.

Tails had a very specific goal in mind. Find the princess's bedroom and get in touch with NICOLE. If anyone could find a way to her now, it would be him. Sally had to have some way of contacting her in her bedroom. That was the small hope he was holding onto. He would prove he wasn't useless. He could hold his own when it really counted.

_You can't help anyone, _a voice sneered. _You're nothing but a freak. A freak who happens to know his way around a workshop. That's all he sees, you know..._

Tails stumbled as tears sprang to his eyes. He knew Sonic valued his mechanical skills, but he always said he was like the little brother he'd never had. Sonic wasn't one to lie...

_Everyone lies, you idiot. Some just do it better than others. Some live by their lies. It's easy to lie to someone like you. So desperately in need of love. So desperate for any king of companionship... Even if he meant it at first... Well, every thing changes over time, doesn't it?_

More tears and they were tumbling down through his furry cheeks. He had to push on, for the sake of his friends. They'd never abandon him. They loved him too much for that. Even if he was a freak. More determined than ever, Tails pushed on in the direction of Princess Sally's bedroom. One more hallway, past three more doors and he was there. Pushing the door open, tails burst into the room. Frantic, he looked around. The small handheld device was lying on the large mattress Sally called her bed. Grabbing it, Tails scooted onto the other side of the bed and lowered himself to the floor. Fiddling with the controls, he soon had it in working order. With some luck, nothing would interrupt his signal.

"NICOLE," he said. His voice shook no matter how hard he tried to hold it in. "We need your help here. Please, come if you can hear me." He didn't care if he sounded like he was pleading with her. She was the only option he could think of.

"...Tails?" NICOLE'S voice came from the device in his hands. "Where are you? Is Sally all right? What's going on?"

"We're in the castle. Something weird happened to Eggman. He's some kind of huge monster now. I don't know where he is. We all separated." Tails knew she could hear how upset he was. Hopefully, she wouldn't ask him about it. He didn't know how he'd explain what had driven him to tears.

"We're on our way, Tails. Give us ten, maybe fifteen minutes tops. Think the others can hold out that long?"

"I hope so. Who's coming with you?"

"Zonic. He found me after... I came to my senses. Just hold out as long as you can Tails. We'll be there to help as soon as possible."

NICOLE blew a kiss at him and the transmission was cut off. Holding it close for comfort, Tails whimpered slightly. If there was anything to be learned from horror movies, it was that you should never stay in one place for too long. No matter how safe you thought it was. Peeking up over the edge of the bed, Tails saw there wasn't anything else in the room. Crawling over the bed, he prayed on Sonic's life that his situation didn't change too drastically or too soon. He also prayed the others could hold out until NICOLE and Zonic got there.


End file.
